Visit Soon

We strongly encourage students and families to Visit Southwestern to get the best sense of what we offer our students. We'll work with you to find a convenient time to visit, show you our campus, and arrange an opportunity to sit in on a class or talk with a professor in the fields that interest you.

University Profile

Selective (but not snobby), Southwestern University is an independent, four-year, undergraduate, national liberal arts college comprised of the Brown College of Arts and Sciences and the Sarofim School of Fine Arts. We are proud to have chapters of the Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Chi honor societies and the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society.

Core Purpose

Fostering a liberal arts community whose values and actions encourage contributions toward the well-being of humanity.

Core Values

Cultivating academic excellence; Promoting lifelong learning and a passion for intellectual and personal growth; Fostering diverse perspectives; Being true to oneself and others; Respecting the worth and dignity of persons; Encouraging activism in the pursuit of justice and the common good.

Heritage

We’re not as old as The Alamo, but Southwestern was the first institution of higher learning in Texas, chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1840. Our founders were Methodist missionaries; the University continues its affiliation with the United Methodist Church today.

Faculty

Southwestern hires some of the most impressive and committed professors. Ninety-nine percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty hold doctorates or the highest degree possible in their respective fields. With a student/faculty ratio of 12:1 and an average class size of 15, student/faculty collaborative research and publication is common. (It’s true, your work may actually be published before you graduate!)

Students

In fall 2014, Southwestern welcomed 1,528 men and women, of which 35 percent were under-represented students. Fifty percent of students who applied were admitted, resulting in 382 entering first-year students. Of those, 37 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school classes and the average SAT score was 1157. Eighty-nine percent of our students hail from Texas, with the remaining 11 percent coming from 34 other states and 11 countries. Visit our YouTube channel to see the Faces of Southwestern.

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts. No graduate degrees or programs are offered.

Paideia

(Hard to explain in just a few words, but we’ll give it a try.) Paideia (Pie-DAY-uh) is an exciting venue where faculty collaborate to enhance student learning. Informed, focused discussions and explicitly integrative activities revolve around a chosen cluster (theme). This central theme or question enables students and faculty to make connections across classes, departments and programs; to do more interdisciplinary writing, creating and thinking; and to collaborate with other students, faculty and staff. The dots continue to connect as opportunities for civic engagement and/or intercultural learning are provided. Cluster themes for 2013-2014 are “Mediterranean Mingling,” “Global Health” and “Representing Gender.”

Campus

Situated on 701 beautiful Central Texas acres, Southwestern has its own “100-acre wood,” also known as the academic campus where students enjoy everything from Ultimate Frisbee games to studying on the academic mall; getting their hands dirty in the community garden to swimming laps, shooting hoops or lifting weights in the recreation center; performing in one of two live-performance theaters to star gazing at the on-campus observatory.

Housing and Transportation

More than three-quarters of all students live in residential campus housing, and everyone—students, faculty and staff—has access to a fleet of “Pirate Bikes,” a rideshare program that help us get around campus in a quick and environmentally friendly way.

Student Organizations

With approximately 100 student organizations, from scholastic and honorary, to government, Greek, special interest and departmental, Southwestern students stay busy. (But don’t worry, academics are still the main focus here.)

Off Campus and International Study

As much as they love being here, students like to venture off campus now and then, too. More than a third students study abroad. A London experience is available each fall along with summer programs in locations such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Peru and Spain. Our students have access to universities around the world through the International Student Exchange Program. In addition, Southwestern offers opportunities for semesters in New York (arts) and Washington D.C. (politics), as well as internships, both domestic and abroad.

Civic Engagement

At a rate that is twice the national average, Southwestern students give more than 39,000 service hours annually to more than 100 local nonprofits and agencies. (Southwestern encourages students to do good in the world while teaching them to do well for themselves.)

Athletics

Southwestern athletes (Go, Pirates!) compete in NCAA Division III basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, and track and field for men and women; men’s baseball, football and lacrosse, and women’s softball and volleyball. Our teams are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) with Austin College, Centenary College, Colorado College, University of Dallas, Schreiner University, Texas Lutheran University and Trinity University. For those looking for less official (but still competitive) activities to choose from, there are 22 intramural sports and four club sports: SU Cheerleaders, SU Dancers, Handball and Fencing. More than 80 percent of our students participate annually in some form of organized physical activity.

Success After Southwestern

Of the 284 graduates of the Class of 2012, 91 percent had obtained employment or had been accepted into graduate or professional school within 10 months. (Yes, a liberal arts degree is valuable, and we can prove it.)

What Others Are Saying

Southwestern University enjoys recognition by a number of college guidebooks and other ranking services for our quality of education, sustainability, value and contributions to the public good. For a complete list, visit our Rankings and Recognition page.

Tuition

$36,120 tuition and fees (2014-15). The average room rate is $5,190; the average meal plan is $5,360. The entering class received more than $8 million in financial assistance from the University.